Tenison Launches IP Exchange, Removes Barriers to IP Evaluation and Reuse

VTOC Technology delivers valuable resource and critical element in IP, strengthening Tenison’s ESL Strategy

San Jose Calif. – September 25, 2006 – Tenison Design Automation, a company focused on removing the barriers to adoption of system level design by delivering synthesis tools that generate system-level models, has announced its IP Exchange solution. IP Exchange serves IP vendors, semiconductor and fabless companies by addressing the critical problem of safely delivering verification IP to external customers and internal teams.

IP Exchange helps companies meet product delivery and time-to-market expectations by addressing the lack of available system-level and verification IP models. It enables System-on-Chip (SoC) designers to take full advantage of system-level design methods earlier in the product life cycle. Furthermore, IP Exchange simplifies sales, contractual, and IP distribution processes.

“Tenison’s IP Exchange not only removes key barriers for adoption of our customers’ IP, we also believe it will change the way design teams use and evaluate IP, especially for SoC design teams who must assemble IP from multiple sources to make their products,” commented Martin Harding, CEO, Tenison Design Automation. “The reality of delivering secure models, overcoming the legal barriers of IP evaluation and advancing the promise of system-level design with one solution has never been available until IP Exchange. We believe that the business and economic benefits to IP creators, IP customers and the EDA industry will be significant.”

Tenison’s strategic expansion of its VTOC technology for IP Exchange provides key advantages including:

• Architectural and ‘What if’ Analysis: IP Exchange customers can export their IP as SystemC models to internal or external users for use within system level simulation suites.

• Software Evaluation of IP: Designers receive native C++ or SystemC models from IP Exchange customers that allow them to quickly determine whether existing software works on the IP and provide the ability to develop new software prior to evaluation board and chip availability.

• Platform Hardware Evolution: Allows engineering teams to design-in new variations of existing designs without having access to the new RTL, and prior to the availability of physical hardware evaluation boards.

• Legal and Contractual Barriers: Typically encountered by IP vendors, IP Exchange enables delivery of IP in a format that cannot be reverse-engineered. IP vendor customers and/or internal teams are able to design-in new products earlier, providing the end user with a time to market advantage.

IP Exchange customers and partners use Tenison’s VTOC product line to create C++ and SystemC models from RTL for distribution outside the customer’s company or work group. Using tools provided through IP Exchange, the customer has the flexibility to dictate what level of visibility each C++ or SystemC model has for each customer and the terms for each model’s license. IP Exchange allows IP designers to automatically generate C models from RTL and maintain control of the IP throughout the model’s life cycle.

Availability and Price

IP Exchange customers include leading IP and semiconductor companies worldwide. IP Exchange is commercially available now. For more information, contact Tenison at sales@tenison.com.

About Tenison

Tenison is the pioneer in bridging the system-level design ‘model gap’. Tenison develops and markets electronic system-level (ESL) tools that enable SoC developers and IP designers to synthesizes C++ and SystemC models from hardware designs described in Verilog or VHDL. The company's solutions are based on open industry standards including SystemC. Tenison's customers include Fortune 100 companies and are leading systems, semiconductor, and IP companies whose products serve the consumer electronics and communications markets. Tenison is a privately held company with facilities in San Jose, California and Cambridge, England. Tenison has sales and distribution locations throughout the world. For more information, please visit www.tenison.com.